The Spinster and the Beast

The beast

That is what people called Sebastian Beaumont, earl of Essex behind his back. For most of his adult life, he had worn a mask covering the right side of his face. No one knows quite how he became disfigured but there are plenty of rumors. He has kept mostly to himself since moving into town. Inheriting the family estate after his father's death, he will not get the rest of his inheritance until he is married. But what woman would want to be married to someone that people called a monster?

The Spinster

Emma Primrose, daughter of the earl of Suessex, had heard the rumors about the new earl of Essex but didn't believe them. She was not one who put stock in gossip. A spinster at the age of twenty two, her dreams of being married and having a family were not to come true. That is, until her family loses to the Earl of Essex and the only way to pay him back is to give one of his daughters' hand in marriage.